A Pomodoro timer for Mac that writes your timesheet

Written 29 September 2026. The focus timer is part of Go.

Most focus timers count down and forget. Bunso's counts down and then writes down what happened — when you started, how long you actually focused, and what you were working on — in a plain file you can keep or hand to a client.

Blocks and breaks, the Pomodoro way

Out of the box it runs the classic Pomodoro rhythm: 25 minutes of focus, a 5-minute break, and a 15-minute long break after every fourth block. Every one of those numbers is yours to change in Settings ▸ Focus timer.

The timer does not open a window. It wears the face of the small robot that already sits in the corner of your screen while you dictate, so there is one thing on screen, not two. Its eyes become a bar that drains as the block runs, or plain digits if you prefer, and it turns green for a break. When a block or a break ends, it asks what next rather than starting the next one behind your back.

The controls live in Bunso's task list, which slides out from the edge of the screen: start, stop, which task you are on and which project it is for. End session sits on its own at the right, never moves when the phase changes, and asks once before it ends anything.

A time log you can open, keep, or invoice from

Every sitting becomes a row in a Markdown file, one file per project, in your Documents (Bunso Time Logs unless you choose another folder). A day looks like this:

## 2026-09-29

| Start | End   | Focus  | Breaks | Project | Tasks             |
|-------|-------|--------|--------|---------|-------------------|
| 09:02 | 10:48 | 1h 25m | 3      | Acme    | Draft the invoice |
| 13:15 | 13:47 | 25m    | 1      | Acme    | Review the brief  |

A few things about that file are deliberate:

• It is the record, not an export of one. There is no database behind it. The time log window in Bunso draws a table with totals from this same file, and "Open the Markdown" is always one click away.
• Bunso only ever adds rows. A note you write between the tables survives the next sitting.
• One file per project, so the file you hand to a client holds only that client's work.
• Focus is the time you focused. Breaks are counted, not added to it.

It errs toward less, never more

A timesheet that rounds up is a timesheet nobody can trust, so the timer is built to under-report:

• It counts by the clock, not by ticking. Close the lid mid-block and the block still ends at its real deadline.
• A sitting survives a restart, a logout, or an update. If Bunso opens again within ten minutes it carries on, and the gap counts as a pause, not as focus.
• Waking up to three "finished" blocks does not happen. If you walked away, the timer stops at the first question and waits for you.

Start it without reaching for the mouse

Bunso is a dictation app first, so the timer takes spoken instructions on your to-do key: "start timer", "start timer: draft the invoice", "break", "long break", "end session". The short ones are refused while you are dictating, where a wrong guess would eat a sentence — "Break the build and ship it" is typed like anything else.

You can bind your own words to any of those actions in Settings ▸ Words ▸ Spoken commands — simulan ang orasan, pahinga, whatever you actually say.

Tasks and projects

The timer runs against the same task list you fill by voice. Clocking a task marks it in progress and groups it at the top; ending the session clears that mark, so the group answers "what am I on" rather than "everything I have touched this week". A task can belong to one project, and the timer picks the project up from it. More on the spoken to-do list.

Claude Code, or any other tool that speaks MCP, can read the time log and the timer's state too, if you switch that on. It can never write to the log.

Questions

What are the default Pomodoro lengths?

25 minutes of focus, a 5-minute break, and a 15-minute long break after every 4 blocks. All four numbers can be changed in Settings ▸ Focus timer.

Where is the time log kept?

In Markdown files in your Documents, in a folder called Bunso Time Logs unless you choose another, with one file per project. Bunso only ever adds rows; it never rewrites or deletes one.

What happens if my Mac sleeps in the middle of a block?

The timer counts by the clock, not by ticking, so the block is closed at its real deadline. If Bunso quits or restarts during a block, it picks up where it left off when it opens again within ten minutes.

Can I start the timer by voice?

Yes. On the to-do key, say "start timer", "start timer: draft the invoice", "break", "long break" or "end session". You can also bind your own words, in any language, in Settings ▸ Words ▸ Spoken commands.

Is the focus timer free?

The focus timer is part of Go, a one-time $19 licence with no subscription. Dictation is free and unlimited without it.